Type: TV

Episodes: 12

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 3, 2021 to Sep 18, 2021

Premiered: Summer 2021

Broadcast: Saturdays at 02:25 (JST)

Producers: Half H.P Studio, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan, Myrica Music

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Tezuka Productions

Source: Manga

Genres: Comedy, Romance

Themes: Harem, School

Demographic: Shounen

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Plot: After harboring an unrequited love for years, Naoya Mukai finally gets to date his childhood friend, Saki Saki. However, just as he tries to commit himself to this relationship, he receives an abrupt confession from Nagisa Minase.

At first, Naoya tries to reject her but is soon overcome by feelings of not wanting to hurt Nagisa. Trying to avoid betraying his girlfriend's trust in him, Naoya thinks up a "solution" to make both girls happy—two-timing. Naturally, Saki rebuffs this idea, but through Naoya's and Nagisa's persistence, she reluctantly submits.

With this, a three-way affair begins between Naoya, his girlfriend, and his "other" girlfriend, as they develop a relationship that deviates from the social norm.

User Revierw: A man and four women become entangled in a web of jealousy, shame, and cuckoldry…

Once in a while, controversial anime like Kanojo mo Kanojo come along and strike a nerve with the audience. These anime can become successes and get praised by fans. Or they can become punching bags—a joke to the whole community. It would be easy to write off KanoKano as cringe, degenerate, and trash, as so many already have, but don’t be so hasty.

Accusing Girlfriend, Girlfriend of being cringe is like saying Gintama isn’t historically accurate. You haven’t figured out something that isn’t obvious. Of course, it is cringy, degenerate, and trashy—harem anime usually are. Most of them are testosterone-induced fantasies written by men. But they cover this fact with melodrama and superficial depth. KanoKano does not pretend—it digs deep into the recesses of your desires and pulls primal emotions kicking and screaming to the surface of your subconscious. It is like witnessing a violent car crash. You can’t help but gawk at it with morbid curiosity. Though it panders to harem fans with excessive fanservice, it works to bait unsuspecting viewers. To call KanoKano a “deconstruction” would be cliche. More accurately, it is a perversion of the harem genre that will appeal to those willing to read between the lines.

Girlfriend, Girlfriend fully commits to being idiotic and humiliating to watch. It leans into the cringe, and that’s why it works. It’s easy to write it off as another crappy harem anime. The characters are archetypal, seemingly generic, and they make illogical decisions that conflict with their interests. Naoya wants to protect his girlfriend and give her unconditional love, yet he refuses to reject another girl and becomes a ‘two-timer’. Saki wants Naoya to herself and fears he might cheat on her, yet she allows him to date another girl as soon as he begs. Nagisa wants to advance her relationship with Naoya, but she insists on giving Saki a head start. This circle of painfully obvious miscommunication fuels both the plot and our frustrations with the characters.

While I could pick apart the anime’s many flaws, like cinema sins, then pat myself on the back for being so above the latest trashy harem, that’d be doing it a disservice. I’m guilty of judging this anime before watching it—I called it garbage based on the trailer. Before avoiding it, you should take a look at every other harem anime and male-power-fantasy then ask yourself, isn't this the same tripe you’re used to, except amplified? I’m asking you to peek under the hood of this dumpster fire with me. There’s a method to the madness.

One bold harem author asks, what would happen if everyone wins? Saki’s plight is all due to his intervention. She is the heroine in a seemingly average romantic comedy. All of a sudden, her ideal boyfriend proposes an idea—what if they date another girl? Though she detests the idea of competing for her boyfriend, she is fascinated. Saki expresses attraction for Nagisa in a way that insinuates she is bisexual. Doubtlessly, this explains why she finds an odd excitement in watching Naoya and Nagisa be romantic. These netorare moments are more self-aware than the banal cuckoldry in Domestic Girlfriend. Either girl has an objective; to seduce Naoya, but their fatal flaws prevent them from achieving their goals. Saki’s envy for Nagisa’s curvy body, bodacious breasts, and attentiveness stifles her self-confidence. She feels an innate sense that Naoya is rightfully hers. After all, Nagisa is a plus one who they may eject at any moment. Nagisa understands why Saki is defensive of Naoya. That’s why she supports her. Like a sister-wife! Saki finds herself in these precarious situations because of her naivety. She could easily dump both of them and date a woman instead. In her daily life, she presents as a confident, upstanding student. Behind closed doors, where she lives with boyfriend and girlfriend, her id manifests itself. Watching her personality unravel as the straight man to Naoya’s dense behavior never got tiring. Every joke increases in severity. All manner of sexual desire and insecurities crawl to the surface—creating some truly cringe-worthy moments. I loved every second of it.

Nagisa is perhaps the most disturbing of the five characters. She has no backstory, no family, no friends, no aspirations aside from her boyfriend, and very little character depth. She is horny all the time, unconditionally in love with Naoya, masochistic and satisfied with being his side hoe. Her only ‘development (if you can call it that) involves coming to terms with her stupidity and reliance on Naoya for a purpose. If you imagine a cardboard cutout of the idealized anime waifu, you would see her face. She unconditionally loves you. She is willing to go along with anything you say. All harem anime present this fantasy—she is the final form. The author neither glorifies nor condemns it. He simply presents her unabashedly.

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